This invention relates to container washing apparatus and is particularly directed to a system for filtering labels out of the washing fluid so the fluid may be reused, and to removing the labels as they collect.
Apparatus for washing containers used in the soft drink, beer and beverage business is continually faced with the problem of removing the labels from the external surface of the containers, and the large capacity apparatus handles a tremendous quantity of containers so the label accumulation problem is acute. Since the containers must be carried through the washing apparatus in pockets, difficulty is usually encountered in removing the labels from the pockets. If the labels are not removed from the pockets there is the possibility that a certain percentage of the containers will have the labels reapplied before being discharged. Washing apparatus utilizes caustic washing solutions in order to penetrate the adhesives, as well as the label material for the purpose of detaching the labels as quickly as possible. The caustic solution is generally heated so that it will more quickly penetrate and loosen the adhesives, whereby the labels can be flushed out of the pockets as the containers are moved into and out of the washing solution. There still remains the difficulty of the soaking time which contributes to getting the labels off the bottles and out of the carrier pockets, and for this reason washing apparatus is usually made with multiple compartments which consumes a large floor area. Large apparatus is expensive to operate and frequently has to be shut down in order to remove the accumulation of labels.
The present invention is directed to means of improving the operation and efficiency of washing apparatus, and is directed to positively flushing the labels from the carrier pockets at the time and place in the compartments when the hot caustic solution has effectively penetrated and loosen the adhesives. The hot caustic solution is delivered by suitable jets into the carrier pockets and over the containers therein so as to flush the labels out of the pockets. The flushing action is directed into a compartment which contains a rotating filtering screen mounted over a fluid inlet to a suction system for drawing the solution through the screen and thereby causing the labels to be strained out of the solution. The solution which has been freed of labels is recirculated back to the nozzles. The rotating screen is provided with an internal screen flushing manifold which is supplied with cleaned caustic solution, and the manifold delivers the solution outwardly through the screen to continually flush the labels off of the surface of the screen so as to avoid clogging the screen. The labels flushed off of the screen in this manner migrate to the bottom of the compartment where the accumulation can be continually removed by label removing apparatus of the character shown in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,204, granted Dec. 22, 1964. Accordingly the compartment is continually cleared of labels as they are flushed from the rotating screen and allowed to migrate toward the bottom of the compartment.
The objectives of the present invention are to provide container label flushing filtering apparatus which may be incorporated in container washing apparatus at one or more compartments, to provide a filtering screen and flow system that will continually flush labels from the containers and carrier pockets and generally confine the labels to an area for efficient removal, and to provide a flushing system which will conserve energy by intermittent operation of the flushing jets so as to reduce the pump capacity, and to continually filter labels from the flushing solution so that the pump will not be clogged with labels.